Down Scope
by SyberByter
Summary: Chapter 1 wasn't so great, but, chapter 2 will be better. When Rifle Grunt gets shipped to ponyville to earn a couple extra bits for the Equestrian Rifle Corps, he finds himself with the elements of Harmony, is assigned as the protector of them, a secret war is waged, he falls for a special somepony, and he finds a job. Starts at Season 1 episode 1.


Authors Note: hope you all enjoy the story, it took me forever to get this out. On a other note, I am here to entertain, and learn as well, so, any pm and review helps.

_Firearms, weapons that fire projectiles at amazing speeds, were created by Rifle Musket some 400 or so years ago. Princess Celestia prohibited the use of such a tool immediately, for the effects of the weapon were too dangerous. But the Rifle Family continued to make the tools, so firearms never went away, though everyone thought they were all gone. The Equestrian Rifle Corps(ERC), founded by Rifle Fire, was created about 200 years later, and is the only branch of the military to use firearms. The ERC is a branch of the Equestrian Military, and their main mission is rapid response and deployment, as well as to ensure victory over all enemies. They achieve their goal using the firearms they make. The ERC are owned and maintained by the Rifle family._

_ But currently, the Rifle family is low on funds, and as a result, so is the Equestrian Rifle Corps. By order of General Rifle Izhmash, all Rifle Corpsmen not actively participating in military operations are to find an extra job and help raise funds._

A dark red stallion with an earth brown mane and dark green eyes, walked down a street of a new town he was sent to. He was wearing a Desert MARPAT BDU, not for any particular reason, but because he simply liked the look, though it hid his cutie mark. His name was Rifle Grunt. He was sent to the town of Ponyville to find jobs so they could earn a couple extra bits for the Rifle Corps. As Rifle Grunt looked around, he saw several different buildings, but nothing caught his fancy. They walked past a pink mare, who upon seeing him, jumped into the air with a gasp, and bolted off.

"Well, that was... Interesting." He said, before deciding that he should walk around to familiarize himself with the area.

Rifle Grunt hastily looked at a map he had made sure to pack before arriving. After taking a couple moments to study it, he looked up from the map, and searched for a landmark to use as a "You-are-here" reference.

The stallion quickly figured out where he was and thought to himself "That Sweet Apple Acres spot on the map sounds pretty nice, plus it's across town, so I can sight-see on my way there..."

Rifle Grunt marched his way to where he thought was the direction of his desired location, but he soon found that he was headed in the wrong direction. He sighed and did an about face, turning around.

Somepony probably would've found that funny, but he didn't. He found it hard to see anything funny the past few months.

On the way to his destination, he noticed a cyan blur heading towards him. Rifle quickly rolled to his right, and heard a loud "smack!" Feeling a warm gust of air hit his side, he turned to see what had landed near him.

A pegasus mare was there on the ground to his left, covered in dirt from the crash.

"Are you alright?" Asked Rifle.

The pegasus replied with "Yeah, I think so." as she slowly stood up.

When the pegasus focused on Rifle Grunt, and flapped her wings to fly around and examine him.

"You aren't from around here are you?" She asked, interested.

"Negative, this is the first time I have been in Ponyville." Responded Rifle Grunt, he said confidently.

"Oh. Well, lucky for you, your life is now 20% cooler since I'm in it. My name is Rainbow Dash, and I'm the awesomest, fastest, and best flyer in all of Equestria!" Exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

Grunt didn't really like ponies who boasted, he saw it as a way to bring bad luck on yourself. However, Grunt maintained his disciplined posture and tone. "My name is Rifle Grunt, pleasure to meet you ma'am." Said Rifle Grunt respectfully.

"Well, you're a dull one, aren't ya?" Said Rainbow Dash, referring to Rifle's lack of enthusiasm.

"Oh trust me, I am glad to meet you" Replied Rifle Grunt, lying only a little, as he didn't plan to meet her, but, he didn't dislike her. "I am just disciplined, I live by certain creeds and such. Plus, I just prefer to be respectful."

"Well, what would be so disrespectful about applauding for me?" Rainbow inquired. Rifle Grunt felt some tension in that statement, and concluded that the pony in front of him is a bit full of herself. "Oh, I suppose that would be totally respectful, but I also prefer to be calm." Rifle explained himself. "All the same, nice to meet you." Rife reassured Rainbow Dash.

"Hey, It's always cool to make a friend, but I gotta get going, bye!" Stated Rainbow Dash as she zoomed off.

Rifle Grunt raised an eyebrow and resumed his course to Sweet Apple Acres. He didn't see how he made a friend, all he did was ask if she was okay, then some small talk, but he shrugged away the thought. "If she wants to be your friend, then she can be your friend." Rifle Grunt thought to himself as he marched along.

A sudden breeze of air felt unnaturally cold on Rifle Grunt's back. The stallion turned around and noticed that there was a jagged rip in his uniform, with a large piece missing.

"Aww, clop! My favorite one too!" Exclaimed Rifle Grunt, realizing he must have torn the uniform on a sharp rock when he rolled to dodge Rainbow Dash. He turned back, and sure enough, there was a jagged rock on the side of the sidewalk, with a tan and brown strip of cloth attached to it.

Annoyed, Rifle Grunt walked down the sidewalk. Rifle looked to his left and spotted a white unicorn hailing him. Rifle Grunt quickly made his way to her.

"Yes, ma'am?" He asked.

"My goodness, whatever happened to your jacket?!" Asked the unicorn, as if the jacket was a living, bleeding pony.

"I rolled over a rock, and I suppose the rock decided to keep part of it." Answered Rifle Grunt sarcastically.

"Excuse me, sir, now is not the time for sarcasm! Come, let me fix it." Replied the unicorn.

"I can't afford any services right no-"

"No matter, I just cannot let you walk around Ponyville with that hideous tear in your outfit." She announced.

Rifle Grunt was shocked at how passionate the unicorn was about clothing. "Willing to fix a strangers outfit for free because it's wrecked? Well... okay." thought Rifle Grunt to himself.

"I am Rarity." She said to him as they walked.

"Rifle Grunt. Nice to meet your acquaintance." He introduced himself, and then wondered "Did I say that right?"

Soon enough they got to her boutique, where she fixed his jacket good as new.

"I must say, it has an interesting pattern on it." Commented Rarity.

"The pattern is why I like it." Rifle Grunt responded. "I will make sure to pay you back later!" He announced as he left the building.

Rarity looked out and explained "I already told you that there was no need, darling!"

The dark red stallion continued to walk towards Sweet Apple Acres. "I hope that there are no more set backs, I would like to check out the acres soon, before it gets dark." Rifle Grunt said to himself.

However, on his way there, he heard melodic chirping. Wondering what was happening, he decided one more setback was okay and followed the sound of the noise. He found a yellow pegasus with a pink mane conducting a chorus of birds. Rifle loved the music being made, so he sat down to listen for a bit. Rifle Grunt always had a fondness for different sounds, crisp and clear gunshots at the firing range being one of his favorites. When the yellow pegasus noticed Rifle, she stopped the birds and looked down at him.

"Had I wandered into something private?" Rifle Grunt thought as he trotted over to the pegasus. "Sorry to intrude, but I must say it sounded lovely."

The only response was a slight dip of the shy mare's head and a blush.

"May I hear some more? I have always liked music." He tried to get a response, but the yellow pegasus just turned her head. "My name is Rifle Grunt, what's yours?"

This time, the pegasus responded with "I'm Flutter..." but, Rifle Grunt couldn't catch the end.

"Excuse me, but I didn't catch the last part." He said, tilting his head at Flutter-something.

"Fluttersh..." repeated the pegasus.

Rifle thought he caught it and guessed. "Flutter...shy?" He asked, and got a nod for yes as the answer.

"Well, okay then, Fluttershy, I will be off then, thank you for your time, and great song. It was nice to meet you." He said deciding it was best to leave and hurry to where he had to be.

Before he got anywhere, he noticed a lavender unicorn hailing him. Rifle Grunt really just wanted to get to his destination, but as a Rifle Corpsman, he held himself to standards, one of which was helping those in need. He trotted down to the unicorn.

"Good afternoon, my name is Twilight Sparkle." Announced the lavender unicorn.

Before Rifle Grunt could answer, she continued.

"I believe you are a Military pony?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

"Yes, I am a Rifle Corpsman. Sergeant Major Rifle Grunt." Explained Rifle Grunt.

"A member of the Rifle family?" Asked the lavender mare.

The red earth pony stallion answered her question. "Affirmative."

"Have you heard of the tales of Nightmare Moon?" Asked Twilight. Rifle Grunt had heard, as he read books often.

"Aye." He answered. Twilight, unfamiliar with the lingo, took a second to figure out that he meant "yes".

"Well, she is scheduled to make her appearance at summer Sun celebration." Rifle Grunt was not buying it.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

The lavender unicorn answered with "Meet me at the library in an hour and I will show you."

Rifle Grunt nodded. "Wilco." Before walking past Twilight and heading for his destination.

No more distractions popped up, which Rifle Grunt was grateful for. As he approached, he saw a light brilliant gamboge earth pony, who was wearing a Stetson.

"Ahoy, there, my name is Rifle Grunt, and I was just checking around town and-" Before he knew it, the pony was fiercely shaking his hoof. "Wow, the pony sure is strong." Rifle Grunt thought to himself.

"Well howdy, Rifle Grunt! Pleasure to make your acquaintance! My name is Applejack!" Said the pony in a country accent.

"Likewise." Responded Rifle Grunt, as he stomped his hoof down to stop it from shaking.

"There must be a lot of ponies comin' for the summer sun celebration, you're the second one to show up today!" Applejack said.

"Really? Must be." Rifle Grunt said. "So, I was just familiarizing myself with the town, seeing as I am going to be here a while."

"Well then, you should familiarize yourself with the ponies too!" Announced the mare. "Would you like to meet the Apple family?"

"I don't see why not." Responded Rifle Grunt.

Rifle Grunt turned to look at the Apple trees, and heard a sound, probably Applejack calling over her family. "Here's the Apple family!"

Rifle Grunt scanned the large group of ponies in front of him. "Big family." he said, surprised.

Applejack started to name off her family members, finishing with Granny Smith. "Did you get all that?"

"Yeah, I think so" said Rifle Grunt, and then he named all of the ponies Applejack called out.

"Well, you certainly have good memory!" Remarked Applejack.

"Well, I have a big family also. But, I must be going now, I have to meet a pony." Explained Rifle Grunt.

"Oh, ah'right then, see ya later!" Called Applejack. Rifle Grunt headed out.

The Rifle Corpsman headed to meet Twilight Sparkle at her library, well, he was supposed to, but then a peculiar pony caught his eye. A bronze pegasus mare, with a curly and short brown mane, and dark green eyes. The pegasus was wearing a pair of rectangular glasses. He found it odd, but she looked remarkably familiar. The dark green eyes were similar to his, but, the glasses looked very familiar as well. Curious, Rifle Grunt approached her.

"Hello?" He said to the pegasus, who responded by looking up at him.

"Oh, uh, sorry, but you just remind me if someone, I knew a long time ago." Explained Rifle Grunt.

The pegasus examined him, and looked at his MARPAT BDU,. She didn't try to hide that she knew the pattern, or if she was, she didn't do a good job.

"Do you happen to go by the name of Rifle Aspire?" Asked Rifle Grunt.

The pegasus grimaced a little but smiled, and replied with "Grunt... Is that you?"

Rifle Grunt smiled back and said "Yeah, it's me... So, this is where you were hiding all these years, huh?" He asked.

Rifle Aspire blinked in surprise and laughed nervously. "Ehehahah... Well.."

Rifle Aspire was Rifle Grunt's sister, and was just a little older, only by a couple months. At the age of 17, Aspire had run away, not wanting the military life she was born into. Rifle Grunt hated that. He felt abandoned, as he had always thought that they would be a team, conquering operations left and right, but when she ran away, she left him to do the operations solo.

Rifle Grunt examined Aspire, and noticed two things. "Is it normal for ponies to walk around un-clothed?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess... I mean, cloths aren't usually the norm." Answered Rifle Aspire, shrugging.

"I see you have a cutie mark now. What's your talent?" Asked Grunt, noticing a a picture of a heart next to a pencil, Aspire's cutie mark.

"Oh, um... Art. I own an art shop just down the street." Aspire explained, glancing down at her feet.

"Oh, well, that's great..." Said Rifle Grunt, looking past her.

"Would you like to see it?" Offered Aspire, in an almost excited way.

"No, I have to be off now, nice finding you here..." He said, before trotting off.

"Wait! Grunt! Where are you going?" She asked, seeming fairly disappointed. W-well, please don't tell the Corps I'm here, okay? Grunt!" She called, but, Rifle Grunt didn't answer. She didn't know if it was because he was ignoring her, or because he didn't hear. "Grunt.."

Rifle Grunt made his way to the library, where he met up with Twilight Sparkle.

"There you are!" Smiled Twilight. "Where we're you?"

"I went sight seeing." He responded.

"Come on, Sergeant Major, let's get inside, so I can show you what I mean." Said Twilight.

Rifle Grunt followed behind the unicorn. When they entered, Rifle Grunt immediately realized how dark it was. He tried to adjust his eyes, as Twilight lectured a baby dragon about something. Suddenly, the lights came on and the group was surrounded by ponies who suddenly all yelled in unison. "Surprise!"

Rifle Grunt jumped onto the floor screaming "Ambush! Hit the deck!" Before looking up and around and realizing, it was just a surprise party, and getting up. Rifle Grunt noticed a pink mare, the same one from earlier, explaining how she knew everyone in Ponyville, and if she didn't know you, then you must be new, and if you're new, then you don't know anyone, and if you don't know anyone, you don't have any friends, and ended with "So I invited everyone in ponyville, so you have lots and lots of friends!" or something like that. Rifle Looked at how chaotic the party was, and decided to be social.

He went to talk to Rainbow Dash first. "So, how did you almost crash in me?" He asked.

The pegasus replied with "Well, I was practicing some tricks and I kinda lost it..."

Rifle Grunt was curious now. "What are you practicing for?"

"The Wonderbolts!" Was Rainbow's response.

"Well, you're gonna want to keep practicing then." said Rifle.

"Oh yeah, I am practicing!"

"Rocks aren't taking your suit anymore are they?" Asked a white unicorn, who Rifle recognized as Rarity.

"No ma'am, the rocks have called a cease fire for now." And for most of the party he talked with his new friends, although he didn't call them friends, they were acquaintances. His sister didn't seem to make it.

Soon, it was time to go watch the sun rise, and Rifle Grunt went with everypony to a building where the Princess Celestia would appear. Rifle Grunt spotted Aspire and slowly sat next to her.

"Big day isn't it?" Asked Grunt, trying to make conversation.

"Yeah." She nodded, seeming a bit down.

"You know, since your talent is art, maybe you should go and get some art supplies, and make a painting, or whatever, of Princess Celestia raising the sun." Suggested Grunt, attempting to cheer up his long-lost older sibling.

"Oh my! You're right!" Aspire yelled, suddenly inspired. She ran out the building, forgetting to say goodbye. Talk about deja vu.

The mayor mare stood in front of every pony, doing all the normal things a mayor mare would do. Rifle Grunt waited until he heard the name "Celestia" to pay attention. When the curtain was opened, Rifle Grunt was immediately shocked by the absence of the princess!

"There must be a reasonable explanation for this." Said the mayor mare, trying to keep everyone calm. A dark blue mist then centered itself on the balcony of the room, and formed into a black alicorn.

Rifle Grunt couldn't hear much, but did hear a voice he didn't recognize. "Do you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?"

"I did, and I know who you are! You're the mare in the moon! Nightmare Moon!" Exclaimed another voice Rifle knew as Twilight. Many ponies gasped at Twilight's sentence.

"Well, well, well, somepony remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here!" Announced Nightmare Moon.

"You're here to... to..." stuttered Twilight, as she gulped.

Nightmare Moon laughed and continued. "Remember this day, little ponies! For it is your last! From this moment forth, the night will last forever!" She started to create a storm from the dark blue fog.

"Seize her! She's the only one who know where the Princess is!" Ordered Mayor Mare.

"Equestrian Rifle Corps! Stand down!" Said Rifle Grunt as he withdrew a cleverly hidden M9 hoofgun from his jacket. Several Royal Guards charged the alicorn.

"Stand back you fools!" Ordered Nightmare Moon, as she struck them all down with lightning.

Rifle Grunt pulled the trigger of the gun, causing a loud gunshot, which almost made him deaf, as he was not wearing ear protection. One round flew past Nightmare Moon's face, landing in the wall behind her, sending a cloud of dust and debris into the air. The other round hit the balcony, tearing a chunk of it off, and producing a similar effect. Nightmare Moon spotted Rifle Grunt, and fired a lightning bolt at him. The lightning struck Rifle, and sent him flying backward into a wall. Barely conscious, Rifle Grunt raised the pistol again, and fired. The round made it's mark, hitting Nightmare Moon's helmet, but, the round simply bounced off.

"You foal!" The alicorn announced, sending another bolt of lightning towards Rifle Grunt. "Gyaaah!" He screamed, before realizing he wasn't in pain. He looked up and saw the charred wings of his burnt up sister.

"It's okay, it's cool. I gotcha." she coughed, looking back at him. "Are you okay?"

Rifle watched blankly as she stood there trying to make small talk and clumsily collapsing on the ground. "Oof, just gimme a sec, and.."

She was out. So was he after a bit, because of his own wounds.

When Rifle Grunt woke up, he felt burns and checked his jacket noticing it had been charred black, but at least his burns were not bad. He checked his sister, who seemed to be worse than him. She had no jacket to protect herself from the cold, harsh world.

"Sergeant Major!" Said a voice, he turned to see a indigo stallion dressed in a woodland camouflage BDU, with a patch that read "ERC".

Rifle Grunt got up and said "Take me to the colonel, an take this stranger to the hospital."

"Right away, Sergeant Major!" Was the Corpsman's response.

As his sister was taken away, Rifle Grunt was lead to a Army green stallion with a grey mane, and a picture of a M1911 pistol, a weapon of his own design.

"Colonel Rifle Colt." Said Rifle Grunt.

"Its good to see you, cousin." Said Rifle Colt.

"Likewise. So what's the deal, Colonel?" Asked Rifle Grunt, ready to get in action.

"The princess has gone missing, and Nightmare Moon has been here." Answered Rifle Colt.

"You knew about this?" Asked Rifle Grunt.

"We have been preparing for it. Our mission is of now, to neutralize Nightmare Moon and rescue the princess."

"What's the status of the mission?" Rifle asked.

"We are searching for the princess now, but, there are rumors that a group of ponies is heading into the Everfree Forest." Said the Colonel.

"What? They are going into the forest!?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, why?" The Colonel asked.

"Crud! I will go to retrieve them." He said.

Rifle Grunt was headed on his way when Colonel Colt stopped him. "Here, take this." Said Rifle Colt, as he handed him an M16A3 Assault Rifle, along with 124 rounds of ammunition.

"Just in case you need it." Explained Rifle Colt.

"Thanks Colt!" Rifle Grunt started to leave, but Colt stopped him once again. "Oh, and you should take one of these." He held out a piece of gear, it had a pin, brace, and hook. It was a "firing shoe" and it was designed to make it easier to hold, aim, and fire a firearm.

"I never found much use for those." Said the grunt.

"Grunt, that horse shoe, would have let you fire six rounds in the time it took you to fire those three, and, just try to control that rifle on full auto without it!" Sighed Colt.

"... Alright, that's true, there is no way anypony could keep up a full auto fire rate without one, and, it did make it super easy to pull the trigger." Rifle nodded as he picked up a pair and put them on.

The shoes went over the hoof, using it to hold the gun in place, so that you didn't need to hug it. The brace kept the hoof able to turn, without having to turn the gun as well, allowing for the pin to pull back when your hoof twisted down, so that the pin would pull the trigger of the weapon. Because of the brace, the weapon stayed put, and didn't move with the hoof, allowing for accurate, rapid, and sustainable fire. Of course, the brace could be locked by twisting the hoof in a circular motion, to prevent the pin from moving so that you could twist your hoof downward and not fire a shot, useful as another "safety" and so that you could safely maneuver the weapon.

"Stay safe Grunt!" Smiled the Colonel.

"Oh, I forgot to ask, you don't happen to have an extra pair of plugs, do you?" Asked Rifle Grunt, as he thought that it would be a shame to lose his hearing now.

Colt tossed him a pair. "Wouldn't want you to go deaf, you could become insubodinate because you wouldn't hear orders." He joked.

Rifle Grunt didn't find that funny, he took his hearing and his job seriously, but he smiled regardless. After putting in the plugs, he headed towards the Everfree Forest, rifle in hoof, and a charred Desert MARPAT BDU on his fur.


End file.
